folks that the white house put the president in the position of being questioned by on twitter and at a google plus hangout. and the gun questions, before, those were from "parents" magazine readers via their facebook page. the professional press core plays an important role. no matter how you feel about the beltway media, you want the president and the vice president to get grilled by professional reporters answering to professional editors operating in the proud tradition of the free and professional press that is good for the country. that is as good for the country as any other check and balance that we have for the nation. but as the white house press corps pines for more access, there is a thing that we're getting more and more of that we haven't had since whenever the last time was that presidents mingled among us without intermediaries, if there ever was that time. multiple repeated forums where regular citizens get to ask direct questions of the president or the vice president in a setting where you actually can expect an answer. it's not journalism. it is not a substitute for journal